Vessel for electrical household food processor closed with a pivoting removeable lid

ABSTRACT

The invention concerns a working chamber for an electrical household food processor, comprising a vessel ( 1 ) and a lid ( 3 ), the vessel and the lid comprising hinge means ( 10 ). The invention is characterised in that the hinge means ( 10 ) comprise two matching nesting surfaces ( 7, 8 ), one ( 7 ) integral with the lid ( 3 ) and the other ( 8 ) integral with the vessel ( 1 ), having at least along one pivot axis a series of at least partly circular sections perpendicular to said pivot axis.

[0001] The present invention concerns the general technical field ofelectrical household food preparation appliances such as particularlymultifunction household food processors or even blenders provided moreparticularly for the preparation of liquids. The present inventionrelates to a vessel provided with a removable closing lid comprisinghinge means for articulating the lid the on the vessel.

[0002] Such a vessel is particularly intended to be associated with ahousehold food processor in which food products are finely divided,mixed and/or emulsified by an appropriate tool fixed to a shaft thatprojects from the center of the bottom of the vessel and is driven by anelectric motor. It is thus necessary that the lid suitably cover thevessel in order to prevent the food products from leaving the vesselduring the course of processing. It is also necessary that the openingand the closing of the lid be easy to perform and that the lid not be inthe way during removal of the food products from the vessel.

[0003] There are known particularly in the prior art household foodprocessors in which the lid is locked onto the vessel or onto thehousing of the appliance by means of jaws. Such appliances have a highfabrication cost. There are equally known food processors in which thelid is locked onto the vessel by means of a bayonet closure. This mannerof closing is however not easy to use.

[0004] There has already been proposed in the document U.S. Pat. No.4,111,372 a household food processor in which a hinge is formed by atenon extending from the lid, engaged in a longitudinal cut-out of thevessel. Insertion of the tenon into the cut-out is not easy to performand requires good eyesight and a certain dexterity. In addition, thismanner of connection presents sealing problems.

[0005] The document EP 0556467 relates to a food processor of which thelid is articulated on the vessel by a hinge, while the document EP0812560 discloses an arm articulated to the outside of the vessel towhich a lid is connected in a removable manner, requiring thefabrication of two separate parts.

[0006] One can note that there exist articulated lids, lids connected ina removable fashion to the vessel of the food processor, a lid connectedin a removable manner to an articulation arm. In contrast, one does notfind a lid that is at the same time articulated and connected in aremovable manner to the vessel, assuring an easy placement and areliable and easily controllable closing of the lid on the vessel, usinga minimum of parts reducing at the same time the number and duration ofoperation for assembling the appliance.

[0007] The object of the present invention is to provide a solutionpermitting use of the appliance to be simplified, while reducing thenumber of parts to be fabricated and consequently also reducing the timefor assembling the appliance.

[0008] To this end, the present invention has for its object a workingenclosure for an electrical household food preparation appliancecomprising a vessel and a lid, the vessel and the lid havingarticulation means, wherein said articulation means have twocomplementary nesting surfaces, one integral with the lid and the otherintegral with the vessel, presenting along at least one pivot axis aseries of at least partially circular sections perpendicular to saidpivot axis. The advantage of this invention resides in the fact that thecomplementary nesting surfaces permit at the same time connecting thelid in a removable manner while permitting it to be articulated to thevessel. The at least partially circular sections can form a circle oreven one or several arcs of a circle, or even envelop the above-citedforms in the case of undulating, ribbed or embossed surfaces.

[0009] According to a preferred version of the invention, thecomplementary nesting surfaces are respectively male and female, or inother terms, convex and concave, for example semicylindrical or evenhemispherical, such a conception permitting the construction of the lidand of the vessel, as well as their cleaning, to be facilitated. Themale and female surfaces can arbitrarily belong to the lid or thevessel.

[0010] Forms of construction relating to an alternative version canhowever be envisioned, such as articulation means formed on the vesselas on the lid by coaxial disks of the same diameter, spaced apart andconnected to their immediate neighbors by a wall covering one quarter totheir periphery.

[0011] According to a preferred embodiment of the preferred version ofthe invention, the female nesting surface is formed by a concave surfaceextending at most over an angle of substantially 180°. Such a design ofthe complementary male and female nesting surfaces permits removal andreplacement of the lid in a very simple and reliable manner withoutfavoring one particular direction for placement or withdrawal. It alsopermits a good guiding of the lid along the circular path with respectto the vessel.

[0012] Preferably, said concave nesting surface is integral with thevessel, at least a portion of this surface being situated above a planeparallel to the upper edge of said vessel and passing through the centerof curvature of said concave surface, alternatively, said concavenesting surface is integral with said lid, at least a portion of thissurface being situated below a plane parallel to the upper edge of saidvessel and passing through the center of curvature of said concavesurface. This arrangement permits retention of the lid during atranslation along the axis of the vessel.

[0013] According to a preferred form of the invention, the complementarynesting surfaces are hemispherical surfaces. Due to this arrangement,the lid can be articulated about a multitude of axes converging at thecenter of the spherical nesting surfaces.

[0014] According to another embodiment, the male nesting surface has afree end provided to be engaged along the pivot axis against the femalenesting surface. This arrangement equally permits obtaining a lid thatis removable from the vessel while assuring a guiding during rotation ofthe lid. The concave surface can then extend over more that 1800.

[0015] Advantageously, the male or female nesting surface integral withthe lid is situated at the end of an arm that projects toward theoutside. This arrangement permits the articulation surfaces to be easilyvisible. Thus, if these surface are not nested in one another, the lidlifts during the engagement of the locking means located substantiallyopposite, indicating to the user that the lid is not correctly closed.

[0016] Preferably, the male or female nesting surface integral with thevessel is arranged on a handle of the vessel. On the one hand, thisarrangement permits the articulation means to be extended toward theoutside, on the other hand, this complementary nesting surface can beconstituted by an appropriate shaping of a portion of a handle and canthus be integrated therewith.

[0017] According to a particularly advantageous form of the invention,the lid has an inner or outer annular nesting surface, extendingperpendicular to the plane formed by the edge of the lid adjacent to theedge of the vessel and dimensioned to be nested at the inside or theoutside of the opening of the vessel, the dimension of this surfaceperpendicular to said plane formed by the edge of the lid being smallerin its part opposed to the articulation means, or in its part closest tothe articulation means. Due to this or these annular nesting surfaces,the lid is guided with respect to the opening of the vessel. Thisarrangement is useful particularly when the male and female nestingsurfaces of the articulation means are formed by convex and concavehemispherical surfaces permitting the lid to be caused to pivot around amultitude of convergent axes.

[0018] According to a variant of the preceding characteristic,preferably, the lower edge of the annular nesting surface has at leastone recess while the inner wall of said vessel has at least onepositioning projection disposed to come to engage with said recess whenthe lid is in position for closing the vessel. This arrangement permitsthe positioning role of the annular nesting surface, integral with alid, to be improved.

[0019] The present invention equally has for its object an electricalhousehold appliance for food preparation having a housing forming a basefor receiving a vessel closed by a lid, the vessel and the lid havingarticulation means, locking means to maintain the lid in its closingposition on the vessel being provided on the housing in order tocooperate with a locking surface of the lid, by the fact that the vesseland lid form a working enclosure in accordance with the precedingarrangements.

[0020] Advantageously, then, the articulation means have a concavenesting surface integral with the vessel, or with the lid, at least aportion of this surface being located above, or below, a plane passingthrough the center of curvature 0 of said concave surface and throughthe bearing point of the locking means on the locking surface of the lidwhen said locking means lock the articulated lid on the vessel in theclosed position. This arrangement permits a locking at two points to beobtained.

[0021] Advantageously also the locking means come to bear on the lid ina region diametrically opposed to the articulation means, thisarrangement permitting an effective locking to be obtained at only twopoints, the locking means and the articulation means.

[0022] Advantageously also, the locking means come to bear on the top ofthe lid, this arrangement permitting the design of the appliance to besimplified.

[0023] The invention will be better understood from the study of oneform of construction and of variants of a vessel provided with a closinglid, object of the present invention, described hereafter, with anexample that is not in anyway limiting and illustrated schematically bythe attached figures in which:

[0024]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of this form of construction, the lidbeing closed and locked on the vessel,

[0025]FIG. 2 is a view similar to that of FIG. 1, the lid being closedand unlocked,

[0026]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of this form of construction, showingthe lid spaced from the vessel by pivoting around the pivoting means,

[0027]FIG. 4 is a perspective view of this form of the construction,showing the lid separated from the vessel,

[0028]FIG. 5 a cross-sectional view along the line V-V of FIG. 1,

[0029]FIG. 6 is a schematic, elevational view of a first variant of theform of the construction of FIG. 13,

[0030]FIG. 7 is a schematic side view in cross-section of a secondvariant of the form of constuction of FIGS. 1-5.

[0031] Vessel 1 illustrated in FIGS. 1-5 is a vessel of a household foodprocessor, the bottom of which (FIG. 1) is associated with pivot means 2of a rotatable tool (not shown) intended to come into engagement withdrive means (not shown). The invention relating to the working enclosureformed by vessel 1 and its closing lid 3, the mechanism of the householdfood processor does not form a part of this invention and itsdescription is not necessary to an understanding of the presentinvention.

[0032] As illustrated in FIG. 5, in the closing position, lid 3 ismaintained against the opening edge 1 a of vessel 1. A seal 4 housed inan annular housing arranged under lid 1 serves to assure sealing betweenedge 1 a of vessel 1 and lid 3. Locking means formed by a disk 5 mountedrotatably at the top of housing 11 of the household food processor serveto maintain the edge of lid 3 against edge 1 a of the vessel 1. Lockingdisk 5 has a cut-out 5 a corresponding substantially to a chord of thecircle by the this disk 5. When locking disk 5 is turned into theposition shown in FIG. 1, it covers a locking surface 3 a arranged onthe upper face of lid 3 (FIGS. 3, 5), while when turning this lockingdisk 5 by 90° in order to bring it into the position illustrated inFIGS. 2 and 3, cut-out 5 a is brought opposite to locking surface 3 a oflid 3 in a manner such that locking disk 5 no longer covers lockingsurface 3 a of lid 3 and frees the latter.

[0033] Diametrically opposite to the locking device that has just beendescribed, lid 3 has, in this example, a radial arm 6 that terminateswith a nesting surface 7 forming a hemispherical portion (FIG. 5), theconvex surface of which is nested into a complementary nesting surface 8forming a concave hemispheric portion, with the same radius as that ofthe convex surface of the hemispherical portion of the lid, said concavenesting surface 8 being arranged, in this example, at the upper end of ahandle 9 provided for gripping vessel 1.

[0034] These two complementary surfaces 7, 8 nested in one another formarticulation means 10 between vessel 1 and lid 3 and permit lid 3 to beturned with respect to vessel 1 when locking disk 5 frees lid 3. Due tothe hemispherical surfaces, rotation of lid 3 with respect to vessel 1can be done not only around a determined pivot axis, but also around amultitude of pivot axes converging at the center of curvature O ofhemispherical nesting surfaces 7 and 8. In addition, nesting of the twosurfaces forming articulation means 10 is facilitated, the center of theconvex surface being directed toward the center of the concave surfaceby the edges of the concave surface.

[0035] As shown in particular in FIG. 5, it can be observed that concavenesting surface 8 integral with vessel 1 has a portion located above aplane passing through the center of curvature O of said concave surfaceand through the bearing point of locking means 5 on locking surface 3 aof lid 3 when said locking means lock lid 3 articulated on vessel 1 inthe closed position.

[0036] As an example of a variant, it is obvious that one could reversethe convex and concave surfaces by forming the convex surface on handle9 of vessel 1 and the concave surface on arm 6 of lid 3. In this case,at least a portion of the concave nesting surface integral with lid 3 isthen situated below a plane passing through the center of curvature O ofsaid concave surface and through said bearing point, to retain lid 3 onvessel 1 in the locking position of locking disk 5.

[0037] As illustrated in FIG. 4, due to the mode of articulation of lid3 on vessel 1, lid 3 can not only pivot on vessel 1 but can be separatedtherefrom and then replaced without difficulty by separating one fromthe other, and then nesting in one another, hemispherical nestingsurfaces 7 and 8, which does not present any problem, taking intoaccount the size of these surfaces and the fact that they are situatedpreferably, as in the example illustrated, at a certain distance fromthe edge of vessel 1.

[0038] Given the great freedom of movement provided by theball-and-socket articulation between lid 3 and vessel 1, return of lid 3into the locking position can possibly present a problem regarding theorientation of lid 3 with respect to the locking position. To this end,as shown in FIG. 5, the lower face of lid 3 advantageously has aninterior annular nesting surface 3 b that extends perpendicularly to theplane form by the edge of lid 3 adjacent to edge 1 a of vessel 1,forming a sort of skirt, in such a manner that it permits lid 3 to beconveniently oriented on vessel 1 during closing of the lid. Preferably,the height of this internal annular nesting surface 3 b is smaller inproximity to locking disk 5 than to the convex, concave pivoting surface7, 8, in order to facilitate closing of cover 3 by pivoting around pivotor articulation means 10.

[0039] The interior face of the lid 3 also has an exterior annularnesting surface 3 c, providing to be nested at least partly around upperedge 1 a of vessel 1 and equally permitting guidance of the mounting oflid 3 on the vessel 1. Preferably, the height of this exterior annularnesting surface 3 c is smaller in proximity to the convex, concave pivotsurfaces 7, 8, than to locking disk 5, in order to facilitate closing oflid 3 by pivoting around pivot or articulation means 10.

[0040] Seal 4 is for example mounted in the housing formed by annularnesting surfaces 3 b and 3 c.

[0041] According to another variant, positioning ribs 1 b can bearranged to project on the internal wall of the vessel 1 (FIG. 5).Recesses 3 d can be provided in the lower edge of annular nestingsurface 3 b of lid 3. These recesses 3 d are positioned to correspondwith ribs 1 b, in a manner such that these ribs 1 b come to engage intorecesses 3 d when the lid is in the correct closed position on thevessel. It is question there of complementary means at interior annularnesting surface 3 b, to assure a placement of lid 3 in a sufficientlyprecise position on vessel 1 to permits its locking.

[0042] Of course, the invention is not limited to nesting surfaces 7, 8having a hemispherical form, and is applicable equally to nestingsurface that would be cylindrical, semi-cylindrical, or even in a moregeneral manner nesting surfaces having surface portions presenting,along a pivot axis, a series of sections that are at least partialcircular.

[0043] The invention encompasses particularly a variant (FIG. 6) inwhich the male nesting surface would be constituted by a pin 7′ arrangedat the end of the radial arm 6′ of lid 3′, while handle 9′ would betraversed by a cylindrical passage 8′, constituting the female nestingsurface of articulation means 10′. It is then sufficient to introducepin 7′ into passage 8′ as indicated by arrow F to assemble lid 3′ ontovessel 1′. The entrance to cylindrical passage 8′ could be proceeded bya guide cone 8′a to facilitate to introduction of pin 7′. In a preferredmanner, the length of pin 7′ is greater than the length of passage 8′and the pin carries laterally at its end a lug 13, provided to slide ina groove 14 provided in passage 8′ during introduction of said pin intosaid passage, and to come to bear against a lateral wall of handle 9′ ofvessel 1′ during rotation of lid 3′. Lug 13 and groove 14 are forexample arranged to permit installation of lid 3′ when this latteroccupies a vertical position.

[0044] By way of a complementary variant, it is not necessary that thepin constituting the male nesting surface have a totally cylindricalcross-section, nor that the passage constituting the female nestingsurface of the articulation means form a cylindrical bearing. FIG. 7shows another variant in which passage 8″ constituting the femalenesting surface of the articulation means 10″ is formed by the lowerface of an upper post 15 connecting handle 9″ to vessel 1″ in which pin7″ constituting the male nesting surface extends from radial arm 6″ of3″, and presents a planar surface portion 16 in a zone that is notinvolved in the pivoting. A lug (not shown in FIG. 7) can also beprovided at the end of pin 7″ to come to engage with handle 9″, post 15or vessel 1″. Handle 9″ can equally have a greater separation fromvessel 1″ in its lower part, in order to facilitate insertion of pin 7″.

[0045] The generatrix of the male and female nesting surfaces of thearticulation means is not necessarily a portion of a circle, as in theexample of the construction shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, nor a straightportion parallel to the pivot axis, as in the variants presented inFIGS. 6 and 7, but can notably be a straight portion cutting the pivotaxis, to then form a conic portion, even be an elliptical portion, toform a portion of an ellipsoid.

[0046] The cross sections of the male nesting surfaces can be circular,i.e. extend over 360°, in the case of nesting surfaces having constantor decreasing cross sections, engaged in a direction corresponding tothe pivot axis of the articulation means. However, cross sections thatare at least semi-circular permitting an engagement in directionsdifferent from that of the pivot axis of the articulation means are ofmuch less limited utility, the user being able to simply place thenesting surface against one another. In a preferred manner, the nestingsurfaces then have with respect to the pivot axis cross sections whosediameter varies in a progressive manner, in order to guide without anysignificant effort to the user the nesting surfaces during assembly ofthe articulation.

[0047] The locking surface of the lid is preferably disposed in a mannerdiametrically opposite to the articulation means, in order to simply thefabrication of the locking means of the appliance. However, the lockingsurface is not necessarily arranged on the upper face of the lid.

1. A working enclosure for an electrical household food preparationappliance comprising a vessel (1;1′;1″) and a lid (3;3′;3″), the vesseland the lid having articulation means (10;10′;10″), characterized inthat the lid (3;3′;3″) is removable from the vessel (1;1′;1″), thearticulation means (10;10′;10″) have two complementary nesting surfaces(7, 8; 7′, 8′; 7″, 8″), one (7;7′;7″) integral with the lid (3;3′;3″)and the other (8;8′;8″) integral with the vessel (1;1′;1″), presentingalong at least one pivot axis a series of at least partially circularsections perpendicular to said pivot axis.
 2. Enclosure according toclaim 1, characterized in that the complementary nesting surfaces arerespectively male (7;7′;7″) and female (8;8′;8″).
 3. Enclosure accordingto claim 2, characterized in that the female nesting surface (8;8′;8″)is formed by a concave surface extending at most over an angle ofsubstantially 180°.
 4. Enclosure according to claim 3, characterized inthat the concave nesting surface (8;8′;8″) is integral with the vessel(1;1′;1″), respectively with the lid, at least a portion of this surfacebeing situated above, respectively below, a plane parallel to the upperedge of the vessel and passing through the center of curvature of saidconcave surface.
 5. Enclosure according to claim 4, characterized inthat the complementary nesting surfaces (7, 8) are hemisphericalsurfaces.
 6. Enclosure according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterizedin that the male nesting surface (7;7″) has a free end provided to beengaged along the pivot axis against the female nesting surface (8;8″).7. Enclosure according to one of the preceding claims, characterized inthat the male (7;7′;7″) or female nesting surface integral with the lid(3;3′;3″) is situated at the end of an arm (6;6′;6″) that projectstoward the outside.
 8. Enclosure according to one of the precedingclaims, characterized in that the male or female (8;8′;8″) nestingsurface integral with the vessel (1;1′;1″) is arranged on a handle(9;9′;9″) of the vessel.
 9. Enclosure according to one of the precedingclaims, characterized in that the lid (3) has an inner (3 b),respectively outer (3 c) annular nesting surface extending perpendicularto the plane formed by the edge of the lid (3) adjacent to the edge (1a) of the vessel (1) and dimensioned to be nested at the inside,respectively the outside, of the opening of the vessel (1), thedimension of this surface (3 b; 3 c) perpendicular to said plane formedby the edge of the lid (3) being smaller in its part opposed to thearticulation means (10), respectively in its part closest to thearticulation means (10).
 10. Enclosure according to claim 9,characterized in that the lower edge of the inner annular nestingsurface (3 b) has at least one recess (3 d) while the inner wall of thevessel (1) has at least one positioning projection (1 b) disposed tocome to engage with said recess (3 d) in position for closing the vessel(1).
 11. Electrical household appliance for food preparation having ahousing (11) forming a base (12) for receiving a vessel (1) closed by alid (3), the vessel and the lid having articulation means (10), lockingmeans (5) to maintain the lid in its closing position on the vesselbeing provided on the housing in order to cooperate with a lockingsurface (3 a) of the lid, characterized in that the vessel (1) and lid(3) form a working enclosure in accordance with one of the precedingclaims.
 12. Appliance according to claim 11, characterized in that thearticulation means (10) have a concave nesting surface (8) integral withthe vessel (1), respectively with the lid, at least a portion of thissurface being located above, respectively below, a plane passing throughthe center of curvature (O) of said concave surface and through thebearing point of the locking means (5) on the locking surface (3 a) ofthe lid when said locking means lock the articulated lid (3) on thevessel (1) in the closed position.
 13. Appliance according to claim 12,characterized in that the locking means (5) come to bear on the lid (3)in a region diametrically opposed to the locking means (10). 14.Appliance according to claim 12 or 13, characterized in that the lockingmeans (5) come to bear on the top of the lid (3).